Not quite

In a reply to my recent post about a customer requesting a copy of another woodworker’s piece, my point may have been missed.

"I doubt that if you had taken on the commission it would have cost the famous woodworker a possible job since this fellow could not probably have afforded the going price for an original piece,” a commentator wrote in response to No Thanks.

I think this is absolutely true. If the customer had been able to afford the original piece, there would have been no reason for them to seek me out. Of course, there is always the possibility that the person was simply too cheap to pay the price and thought they could do better buying a knockoff.

But that's not really the point. I have never been able to get the same level of satisfaction out of making a copy of another's work as I have gotten out of making my own designs, even if I admired the other person's work. And believe me, there have been many times when I wished I had been the one to make something I had seen.

But even in those few times when I did try to make a copy of another piece, I always ended up with something that was not quite there. Being a good forger ain't easy!

David DeCristoforo possesses an extensive resume as designer/maker of fine furniture, high-end cabinetry and architectural woodwork. His experience in professional woodworking spans a period of 35 years. For the past 20 years David DeCristoforo Design has been located in Woodland, California. During this time David's shop has ranged in scope from a "full on" cabinet production shop with as many as 15 employees to a small fine furniture and custom millwork shop, working with his son, David RBJ, a highly skilled maker in his own right.